Senate committee delays vote on bill to require welfare recipients to perform community service

MONTGOMERY, Alabama --- Sen. Bryan Taylor said before he was elected to the Legislature, he drove through a neighborhood marred with graffiti and trash where many of the residents sat idly on porches.

Taylor, a Republican from Prattville, said that prompted him to propose legislation to require those receiving public benefits to perform 20 hours of community service a week.

A Senate committee delayed vote on Taylor’s bill today after other legislators raised some concerns.

Sen. Linda Coleman, D-Birmingham, said she thought the idea had merit, but was concerned about several issues, including liability for the agencies that would provide the work.

“I think the bill needs to be more thought out and fleshed out,” Coleman said.

Sen. Bill Holtzclaw, R-Madison, said he was concerned about “blurring the line” between court-ordered community service for criminal offenders and public benefits recipients.

Taylor did not contest the move to delay the bill and said he was open to making changes.

Taylor said his intent was not to punish recipients, but to promote work and self-sufficiency. Recipients would perform the service for non-profit agencies, which Taylor said can provide valuable services for the community and for those who receive public benefits. For example, he said a nonprofit group could be formed to clean up neighborhoods like the one he saw.

“I think the point is making sure that we start getting away from the entitlement mentality that is trapping so many people in a cycle of poverty and dependency and start thinking about the dignity of earning a living,” Taylor said.

Taylor said he would like those who can show they are actively seeking work to receive a waiver. Taylor said his intent was for the bill to apply to recipients of food stamps, Temporary Assistance to Needy Families and unemployment.